Creaser foot carriers for folding machines



July 2, 1955 w. E. NAUGLER 2,712,562

CREASER FOOT CARRIERS FOR FOLDING MACHINES Filed Oct. 29, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet l m: p M v //5 hwemfop Wa Zier E. Nauyler y 1955 w. E. NAUGLER CREASER FOOT CARRIERS FOR FOLDING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 001.. 29, 1953 July 12, 1955 w. NAUGLER 2,712,662

CREASER FOOT CARRIERS FOR FOLDING MACHINES Filed Oct. 29, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 742 lnuentofi Walter E Naugler Unite CREAEEER F081 CARREERS MiACm ES Walter E. Naugler, Beverly, Mass, as to United Shoe Machin ry Corporation, Remington, N. 3., a corporation of New Jersey Application C-ctober 29, 1953, Serial No. 388,963

4 Grunts. Il. l255.1)

folding mechanism in which this invention is embodied, sheet material, which constitutes the work to be folded, is supported upon a as the margin is turned up and folded against the end of a crcaser foot. it has for some time been r ed that when working with shoe uppers there is bound to be a substantially thicker portion of the work adjacent to the back seam which will not pass readily between the creaser foot and the adjacent parts. One phase of this problem has been met 3.1K. solved by porting the creaser foot for yielding movement in a path substantially parallel to the path of movement of he folding finger. inasmuch as more nearly perfect folding has been made possible by mounting the folding finger for movement in a direction inclined toward the body of the work, this has meant that the creaser foot must be supported for yielding movement in a path inclined to the work support or substantially parallel to the folding finger.

While this has solved the problem of variation in wor: thiclmesses in so far as the heightwise yielding of the creaser foot is concerned, it has made no '"ovision for a changeable spacing between the crcaser foot and the folding finger, when these thickened portions are encountered. The result has been the creaser foot is either set too close to the folding finger, with a resulting danger of damage to the parts of the machine, or has been spaced far enough from the folding finger to permit the maximum thicknesses to pass freely while gettin more than the desired spacing for the port as or" the work of normal thickness and hence a resulting imperfect folding action along these portions.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide an improved construction in which the operation of the machine is at best efiiciency regardless of the thickness of the work and breakage of parts is avoided.

In accordance with this object a feature of the invention resides in an arrangement for supporting the creaser foot in which it normally pivots about a distant point, for varying thicknesses of work between the end of the creaser foot and the table, and which provision is made for emergency movement of the creaser foot support to carry the creaser foot in a direction normal to the path of movement of the folding To ti is end, the creaser foot on its extension or carrier is carried upon a pivot which lies laterally of the path of the folding finger a snl'licicnt distance so that the permitted movement of the creaser foot itself will be in an arc of sufficient radius to bring its path of movement substantially parallel to the path of movement of the folding finger. The pivot around which this movement takes place is States atent carried by a device which is movable in a direction substantially normal to the path of movement of the folding finger against the action of a heavier spring. As illustrated, a bell crank, pivoted on the machine has an upstanding arm in which the pivot for the creaser-footcarrier is mounted and has another arm displaceable upwardly against the heavier spring to allow the end of the creaser foot to move away from the folding finger.

These and other features of the invention are best understood from a consideration of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is an angular view of one form of machine in which the invention is embodied, showing a skived leather upper the margin of which is being folded;

Figv 2 is an angular view of a bell crank lever to support a creaser-foot carrier on a supporting plate;

Fig. 3 is an angular view of said supporting plate, removed from the machine, on which the carrier is mounte by said bell crank lever;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation with parts broken away and in section of the ends of the outstanding arms of the machine and showing the tools associated therewith;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view, partly in section, of the creaser foot showing a valve to control the fiow of cemerit through it and an actuating lever for this valve;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation, taken in the direction of e arrow VI in Fig. 4, of a fragment of a device for 7 is a rear elevation, partly in section of the head machine drawn on a much larger scale and shot mg particularly the support for the creaser-foot carrier a portion of a drive mechanism for the cement pump; 8 shows a series of gears of this drive mechanism which are indicated in Fig. 7 by clot and dash circles; and

Fig. 9 is a detail view showing the top of the creaserfoot carrier and a heating unit therefor, this view being taken in the direction of the arrow IX in Fig. 7.

The machine is of the type shown in Letters latent of the United States No. 2,270,891, granted January 27, 1942 on an application of C. A. Newhall but differs therefrom in that provision has been made for handling thermoplastic cement supplied in the form or" a rod or strip, together with other changes forming the subiectmatter of the invention. On the base it? there is an outstanding arm 12 partially surrounded by a work supporting table 14 reniovably mounted upon the machine. Above the base it there is a cover 16 which extends to the left to form an upper arm 18 terminating in a head 25 in which a number of the operating tools of the chine are mounted. This head, which is secured to the end of the arm 18, comprises a side plate 22 the lower portion of which is integral with an underlying web 24 (Figs. 4 and 7) which extends to the far side of the machine.

In common with machines of this type, various tools for performing a folding operation are provided and these include a creaser foot 26, and a cooperating folding finger 28 (Fig. 4) which moves in a generally upward but slightly inclined path past the end of the creaser foot. A heating unit 27 for the creaser foot is manually controlled by adjusting a rheostat 29. A gage finger 36 having a finger piece 32. is pivoted at 3- 3 upon a depending portion 36 of the web 24- (Fig. 7). Adjacent to the gage finger there is also provided a cutting block 38 the far face of which cooperates with a snippet blade This blade is adjustably inou ted upon a bar 42 and the upper end of the bar is received in a groove formed in the side face of a lever 46 pivoted at 43. The upper arm of the lever is connected to an actuating rod 56 as is common in machines of this type. 33/

3. mounting the blade 48 upon the separate bar 42 it can more readily be removed for sharpening or adiustment by removing a clamping screw 52 which holds the bar in the groove of the lever.

The work is progressively presented to the above operating tools by means of a feed mechanism, of a type common to such machines, which includes an anvil 54 (Fig. 4) and a hammer 56, these being pivotally interconnected at 58. The anvil is supported upon an arm carried by an oscillatory hollow shaft 62 and the hammer is yieldably joined to a reciprocatory shaft 64. It will be noted that the folding finger 28 is secured to the end of a lever 66 and is movable up and down by a pin projecting eccentrically from the end of a shaft 68.

Since the creaser foot is to be utilized as a means for applying a thermoplastic cement to the margin of the work, it is provided with a passage 7 ti (Fig. 5) connected at its lower end with outlets 72 and joined by connected passageways, to be later described, including a passage 74, to a source of supply of molten cement. let openings 72 are in the bottom surface and near to the corner between that and the end surface. The cement contained in this passage tends, when there is no work being presented to the machine, to flow out through the outlet openings 72 and thereby either soil the working parts of the machine or else form a blob of hardened cement which causes trouble when more work is presented to it. Accordingly, a valve spindle 76 has a pointed lower end which coacts with a sharp edge of a shoulder 78 forming part of the passage. spindle extends through a packing 80 compressed by a gland 82 and has a laterally slotted head 84.

Actuation of the valve is efiected by a pin entering this slot and carried by an arm 88 of a lever 90 which is pivoted at 92 on the creaser foot between a vertical face formed by cutting away a portion of the creaser foot'and the inner face of an upright 94 which is integral therewith. A tail 96 on the lever 90 coacts with an interposed spring 98 which tends to move the lever 99 in a counterclockwise direction to close the valve 75. The upper portion of the lever 90 is forked and has a hook-like configuration 100 to receive a ball 182 upon the end of a flexible cable 184 extending upward through a guide tube 186 and connected to a slide 108 which is mounted for reciprocation in a casing 110 on the top of the arm 18.

By moving this slide 1138 (Fig. 4) against the tension or" a spring 112 the valve may be opened and to this end the slide 108 has collars 114 coasting with a block 116 which is pivotallyattached to a lever 118. The slide has a spring between the end collars and the block. This lever 118 has a long pivot turning in a bracket 128 and has, at the far end or" the pivot as seen in Figs. 1 and 4, a lever arm 122 which has a rounded end resting upon the top of a front-to-back lever 124 which is effective, by releasing pressure upon a pin 126, to close a connection between a power-operated driving mechanism and a skew gear 128, shown in Fig. 7. For a more complete showing of these parts, reference may be had to an application Serial No. 315,895, filed October 2-1, 1952, in my name, for Improvements in Cementing and Folding Mechanisms. The arrangement is such that the gear is oscillated in steps whenever the pin is re leased from the pressure of the forward end of the lever 124. This latter lever is operator controlled, as by means of a treadle-controlled switch energizing a solenoid (not shown), when the operator desires to start the feeding of the work. It will be clear that a depression of the forward end of the lever 124 coincides with a closing of the valve 76 under the impulse of the spring 112 and that when the lever is operated in the other direction to start the machine the valve is opened.

The creaser foot 26 per se is attached by means of screws 13% to the lower end of a carrier 132. This carrier is mounted, in a way to be presently'described, upon The out- This valve a supporting plate 134 (Figs. 3 and 4) lying just above the transverse web 24 of the head and carried in the latter by means of screw studs'136, 138 in the side plate 22 and by a threaded stud (not shown) on the far side of the head 28. The outer end of the plate 134 is notched at to give room for the carrier. These studs enter grooves in the opposite edges of the supporting plate 134, as in my prior application referred to above, thus permitting adjustment toward and away from the end of the machine shown at the left in Fig. 1. This adjustment is efiected accurately by means of an eccentrically mounted cylinder 139 (Figs. 3 and 7) which is received in a transverse groove 14%! formed by downwardly extending flanges upon the supporting plate. The cylinder is secured to a rod 141 (Fig. 4) which is slotted at me end shown in that figure so it may be turned by a screw driver to adjust the position of the plate. 134.

At its inner end, the supporting plate 134 has a forked end provider. with slightly upturned lugs 142 carrying a transverse shaft 144 on which are mounted laterally spaced, upwardly extending arms 146 and 148 (Figs. 2 and 9) of a bell crank lever 15% having an inwardly extending arm 152. joined by means of a pin 154 to a boss 15:? (Fig. 7) upon the under side of the carrier 132. This pin 154 serves as a pivotal support for the carrier when the outer end thereof and the creaser foot 26 carried thereby are lifted as for the insertion of work. For this purpose, the operator may depress a finger piece on a hand lever 158 having a pivot 159. A roll 162 coacting with the under surface of a shoulder 164 on the carrier is carried by an arm secured to the pivot 15?. This pivotal mounting also permits the creaser foot to be lifted slightly by the Work, in a way to be later described, when the thickness of the work varies.

The inner arm 152 of the bell crank 150 is slotted at 166 to permit the passage of a screw stud 168 which is threaded in an inwardly extending arm 176 (Figs. 3 and 4) integral with the transverse web of the plate 134. The stud 168 is locked in the arm 170 by a nut 172. It has a stop flange 174 supporting the slotted arm 152 of the bell crank lever 150 at a desired normal position in which position the arm is held by a stiff spring 176 the tension of which may be adjusted by nuts 178. By this arrangement the carrier 132 and hence the creaser foot 26 may pivot about the pin 154 for varying thicknesses of work but if the work becomes thicker, as by reason of a back seam for example, than the space (Fig. 5) between the inclined end of the creaser foot and the adjacent face of the folding finger 28, then the creaser foot may yield in a direction normal to the path of movement of the folding finger 28 against the tension of the spring 176, thus preventing 7 the passage 74 (Fig. 5) of the creaser foot itself, when the latter is attached to the carrier. The cement unit 182 also includes a heated casing 191; containing a power driven cylinder (not shown) which is attachedto a gear 192 (Figs. 7 and 8) and assists in carrying the cement to the pump. This gear meshes with a gear 194 on a shaft 196 carrying one of the pump gears and the gear 194 meshes with an idler 1% supported upon the pivot pin 154, the idler being in mesh with a pinion 209 carried by the shaft 144. The latter is provided between the arms 146, 148 of the bell crank 15%, with a skew gear 202 meshing with the driven gear 128.

The elongated creaser-foot carrier 132 has a longitudinally extending cylindrical recess 204 (Fig. 7) in which there is received a cylinder 206 having a sliding fit in the recess and which is bored to receive an electrical heating The upstanding arms 146, 148 are spines.

The cylinder 166 is provided, along the major pa t .5 upper side, with a groove 2113 which forms the passage providing commurjcation between the outlet 186 of the pump and the recess At the upper end of the carrier ther is a closure plate 222, slightly larger than the bore of the cylinder 2%, which is held down against the top end of carrier by a terrnlnal plate 214 screwed to the carrier.

Thus, the heating unit is brought o close association with the cei ent-carrying groove 22c without having any conta t with the cement an v" ole unit may be readily removed from earn i hen t is necessary to replace the heating unit or to clean .1 e groove because the cement contact" with only a small portion of the per phery of the wall of the recess A bulb 215 of a then iostat is also mounte in the Carrie. alongside the cylinder and is joined to suitable controls which regulate the urrent supplied to the heating unit through cond= tors 218. Such a disposition of the parts insures a proper regulation because of the close parallel position of the thermostat bulb 2&6 and the heated and grooved cement-carrying cylinder 2%.

A proper positioning of the creaser foot 26, in order that there may not be any damage to the work or to the foot itself, is effected by devices shown in Figs. 4 and 6 which limit the upward and downward movements of the carrier 132. The device for lirnlt' g downward movetne of the carrier comprises a nub 23%), upon the upper side of the carrier, to which there is pivotal tail shaped bar 222 having an inwardly e e ding lug 224 at its upper end. The bar 222 is received in a correspondin ly shaped slot in a carried by a pivot 223 extei 1g through a thickened be ng forming part of an upstanding flange 232. This flange rises from and is an integral part of the supporting plate 134 and hence represents a relati ly fixed part of the machine. Carried in the pivoted bloc 22.6 is a screw stud having a stop nut 236 pon which there rests a cam 238 the upper surf ce of which is provided with a series of vertically staggered notches to receive the lug 244. The periphery of this cam is knurled to fa tat adjustment thereof but it is normally held in the de ed position by a spring 2 21) positioned between i; and a nut upon the upper end of the stud 234. By turning the earn 2325, be exact lower limit of movement of the creaser foot is adyustably determined.

it is also desired to hold the creaser foot yieldably down against the work and to limit the upward movement thereof. For this purpose, there is associated with the upstanding flange 232 (Fig. 3) a block 2%2 (Fig. 4) pivoted thereon and apertured to pass a rod having a shoulder 246 (Fig. 7) and resting at its lower end the recess of :1 lug formed upon the upper side of the carrier 13-2. Associ ted with and resting upon the shoulder 24-5 of th le 244 is a hollow casing 248 containing a spring resting on a bottom fiange of the casing. it surroun s the spindle A sleeve threaded in the block 2 2 rests on the top of spring 25? and has a knurled head to facilitate adjusnnent or" the tension of the spring 238. The outside of the spring-containing casing 2% is threaded to receive stop sleeve 252 locked in adjusted position by a finger nut 25s. The upper end of this stop sleeve engages the bottom of the pivoted block 242 to prevent too great a lifting movement of the creaser foot and the spring acts normally to hold the creaser foot against the work.

Cement is supplied to the outlets 72 in the creaser foot by utilizing a strip or rod 269 of thermoplastic material which is delivered from a reel (not shown) and carried to an entrance tube 262 for the heated casing by means of feed wheels 264 and 266 (Fig. l) the peripheries of which engage the rod to move it along as needed. These feed wheels may be mounted in any desired fashion as upon a bracket 263 and are here shown as driven by means of a chain and sprocket connection 27% to the shaft 196 upon which one of the gears of the pump is mounted, this gear being in a continuous chain with Others which are driven from the intermittently oscillated skew gear 128 and thus provides for the advance of the rod to the heated casing as demanded by the work. A slip drive is interposed between the chain connection 270 and the feed wheels to prevent breakage of parts if the machine is started before cement has been melted or for other reasons. A protective guard 272 is supported on the machine to cover this chain drive as well as the rear side of the hot casing 190 and its support. The casing may also be provided with an insulating cover 274- if desired.

In the operation of the machine, a piece of skived material is presented to the machine by depressing the finger pieces 32 and 16% thereby lifting the gage finger 3i and the creaser foot 26. The work will be pushed in against the curved face of the cutting block 38 to a position determined by the overhanging top thereof, as in machines of this type, after which the finger pieces will be released and the gage finger and the creaser foot allowed to rest upon the work. An operator will then, in his usual manner of controlling the machine, cause the driven shafts 62, 64, 68 for the work feed to be set in motion whereupon the folding finger 28 will turn the work up against the creaser foot which will deliver adhesive to the margin adjacent to the skived portion thereof. As the work passes this foot, the fold will be completed by the action of the coacting hammer 56 and the anvil 54 and these members, gripping the work, will be oscillated to carry it along a fraction of an inch in a four-motion feed fashion. it will be recalled that the setting into operation of the drive mechanism for the feeding and folding parts has also been effective to start the intermittent drive for the cement parts and to open the valve '76 in the crcaser foot. Changes in the thickness of the work between the bottom face of the creaser foot 26 and the work table will be permitted by the spring 25ft. If an unduly thick portion of the work comes between the inclined face of the creaser foot 26 (Fig. 5) and the underlying face of the folding finger 28 moving up and down in an inclined path, then the creaser foot may move in a direction axially of the carrier 132 and substantially normal to the path of the finger 28 to increase the space between the parts 26 and 28 by compressing the stiif spring 1%, thus avoiding any breakage of the parts of the machine.

Downward movement of the creaser foot will be limited by the device shown in Fig. 6 and at proper intervals the snipping knife 40 will be set in operation to slash the margin of the work and permit the ready folding thereof along reentrant curves or sharp outwardly extending corners. When this knife needs sharpening or adjustment, that can readily be effected by loosening the screw 52 and removing the blade-supporting bar 42, thus making it easy to get at the small thin blade 40.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a folding machine, a work support, a folding finger movable heightwise thereof in a path inclined to the surface of the work support, a creaser foot cooperating with the folding finger to determine the line of fold of a work piece being operated upon, a pivot for said creaser foot located at a substantial distance from the path of movement of the folding finger providing for heightwise movement of the creaser foot in a path substantially parallel with the path of movement of the folding finger, means normally acting to oppose such movement of the creaser foot, means mounting said pivot for movement in a path substantially normal to the path of movement of the folding finger whereby the creaser foot is movable toward and away from the folding finger, and means normally maintaining said pivot in such position that the creaser foot is close to the folding finger.

2. In a folding machine, a work support, a folding finger movable heightwise thereof in a predetermined path, a pivot-supporting means located at a substantial distance laterally of the path of movement of the finger, said means being movable in a direction substantially normal to said path of movement, a stop to limit that movement, a creaser foot carrier pivoted on said means and having a creaser foot cooperating with the folding finger to support the margin upturned by the folding finger, said creaser. foot carrier being swing'able to carry the creaser foot in a path substantially parallel to the face of the folding finger, a light spring holding the creaser foot against the work, and a heavy spring holding the pivotsupporting means against said stop.

3. In a folding machine, a support for a piece of sheet material, a folding finger movable .heightwise of said support'in a fixed path, a creaser foot disposed beside the path of movement of the finger, a carrier therefor, a lever fulcrumed upon the machine at a point intermediate of the length thereof, means for pivoting the creaser foot carrier on one end of said lever which is located at a level displaced heightwise from the pivot point, a spring urging the creaser foot about said pivot into contact with the work, and a heavier spring engaging said lever to resist but permit movement of the creaser foot in a direction substantially normal to the path of movement of the folding finger.

4. In a folding machine, a work table, a folding finger movable heightwise thereof in a path inclined to the surface of the work table whereby one side of the finger will underlie the other, a creaser foot the end of which is parallel to the underlying side of the finger, a bell crank lever pivotally mounted on said machine at a point displaced laterally of the path of the folding finger, one end of said bell crank projecting upwardly from the pivot and being hinged to said creaser foot, and a spring engaging the other end of the bell crank to resist movement of the end of the creaser foot away from the adjacent side of the finger.

No references cited. 

